1. Field of the Invention
The present invention, in general, relates to floatation devices and, more particularly, to a floatation device which can be secured to another floatation device to provide a larger floatation device.
Floatation devices are typically comprised of an inflatable piece of material or a type of foam floatation material that can be placed in water. They are useful in rescue efforts on water and, more commonly, for recreational activities.
The floatation device allows a person to essentially float on a device at the surface of water. In rescue efforts a person who may be inadvertently placed in water may stay afloat by use of a floatation device. Injured or otherwise incapacitated persons in water may be brought to safety by use of a floatation device administered by rescue personnel.
Most commonly, floatation devices are used to allow a person to float in a swimming pool, lake or river.
The floatation device can be reassuring to a swimmer who has yet to acquire sufficient swimming skills. Additionally, the floatation device affords a person the experience of being in a body of water without actually being immersed within the water. A person can relax and sunbathe atop the floatation device or socialize with others who are also on floatation devices.
Floatation devices are designed in many shapes, sizes and configurations to accommodate any number of people. However, the more people the floatation device is to accommodate inevitably also increases the size of the floatation device. This may not be ideal for all situations.
An inflated prior art floatation device designed for two or more persons may also be cumbersome and difficult to carry to the location of the water. Prior art floatation devices designed for two or more people, such as an inflatable boat or raft, can include a length that is longer than a person's height. Maneuverability of a large inflated prior art boat or raft is awkward and its size may deter usage due to its inability to be easily transported.
If a pump is not readily available at the desired time and location of where the prior art boat or raft is to be used, inflating such a large floatation device can be a difficult feat to accomplish. If a person tries to use their own breath to inflate the prior art boat or raft, it can be time consuming and exhausting.
Additionally, if a group of people are each using a single-person individually sized floatation device, such as a prior art inner or river tubes, it is difficult for the group to remain together due to currents and motion of the water beneath the prior art inner or river tube.
Yet, this is a common occurrence at swimming pools, ponds, lakes, and rivers. For example, a group of people may wish to float down a lazy river in unison so that they can converse and share the experience. However, this is not possible with currently available individually-sized floatation devices. And, as previously mentioned, the use of larger floatation devices, such as multiple person rafts or boats, are not practical due to size constraints and difficulty of inflation. Larger rafts are also expensive.
Accordingly, there exists today a need for an Interlocking Floatation Device that helps to ameliorate the above-mentioned problems and difficulties as well as ameliorate those additional problems and difficulties as may be recited in the “OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION” or discussed elsewhere in the specification or which may otherwise exist or occur and that are not specifically mentioned herein.
As various embodiments of the instant invention help provide a more elegant solution to the various problems and difficulties as mentioned herein, or which may otherwise exist or occur and are not specifically mentioned herein, and by a showing that a similar benefit is not available by mere reliance upon the teachings of relevant prior art, the instant invention attests to its novelty. Therefore, by helping to provide a more elegant solution to various needs, some of which may be long-standing in nature, the instant invention further attests that the elements thereof, in combination as claimed, cannot be obvious in light of the teachings of the prior art to a person of ordinary skill and creativity.
Clearly, such an apparatus would be useful and desirable.
2. Description of Prior Art
Floatation devices are, in general, known. Individual floatation devices that include the structural elements and advantages of the present invention are not known.
U.S. Design Pat. No. D658,257 to Whitehead, that issued on Apr. 24, 2012.
While the structural arrangements of the above described devices may, at first appearance, have similarities with the present invention, they differ in material respects. These differences, which will be described in more detail hereinafter, are essential for the effective use of the invention and which admit of the advantages that are not available with the prior devices.